Nervous Anticipation
by ImGladYouFoundThatFunny
Summary: Set after 5.04; Naley FLUFF; oneshot. Haley's glad things are returning to normal, and she's anticipating their first kiss since Nathan has come out of his funk.


**For the sake of this story, there is no 'Nanny Carrie' drawing. I want this story to be fluff, so in order to make things fluffy, the drawing is non existent.**

"Um, when you get a chance, I'd love to see that dress on you," Nathan hinted, and when she looked up at him, she wasn't sure how to react. This was the first time he'd hinted at anything, and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say in response. They hadn't even really kissed, other than a simple peck here or there, since he'd shut down a few months before. Now that he was working on recovering, they hugged and fell asleep with her in his arms, but nothing more. And now he had that look in his eyes, the one he always got when he wanted to kiss her, and she was starting to not be able to breathe. It wasn't that she didn't want to, because she did. It had been such a long time since they had kissed, though, that a sort of nervous anticipation had built up inside of her- kind of like when they were first beginning their relationship.

As she sat there fidgeting with her hands and trying to think of something to say, Jamie came running into the room. Thank God for their son.

"Hey buddy! Bedtime already? I haven't seen you all day!" she exclaimed, pulling him onto her lap and showering him with kisses.

Later that night, after she'd said bye to Carrie and made sure Jamie was asleep, Haley made her way to their bedroom. Opening the door, she saw Nathan's crutches next to the bed, but Nathan wasn't in the bed. Looking around, she saw him standing in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. She looked back at his crutches, and then at him again.

"Nate?" she called suspiciously.

"Yeah?"

"Did you walk into the bathroom without your crutches?"

Ridding his mouth of the toothpaste, he turned to look at her, a grin forming on his face.

"Yeah."

"Nathan!" She said ecstatically, running into the bathroom and throwing her arms around his neck, being careful not to throw him off balance. "That's great!"

"Don't get too excited- it took me five minutes to get from the bed to here, but I figured it's an improvement, right?"

"It's definitely an improvement," she said, nodding her head vigorously. Her eye caught the corner of his mouth, where there was still a little bit of toothpaste. She smiled, moving her arm from around his neck and raising her hand to his cheek, swiping at the corner of his mouth. She felt his grip tighten on her waist, and when she looked up into his eyes, her breath caught in her throat.

There was that look again. Oh, how she loved that look. Yes, that look still freaked her out, but it had been four and a half long months since she'd seen him look at her like that, and she wanted to revel in it. She watched, biting her lip, as his gaze shifted from her mouth, to her eyes, and back to her mouth. One of his hands came from her waist to brush her bangs out of her eyes, his palm resting on her cheek. He'd started to lean in, to duck his head down so that his lips could press against hers, when "Here I Come" by Fergie started playing from the bedroom. He closed his eyes and sighed, resting his forehead on hers, and she blew out a breath.

"Brooke's always had good timing, hasn't she?" she quirked sarcastically, running a quick hand through his hair before backing out into the bedroom to answer her cell.

"Yeah, and an excellent choice in ring tones," he called after her, exasperated.

Ten minutes later, Haley was finally hanging up her phone, this time turning it all the way off before setting it on the nightstand. Standing, she made her way back to the bathroom to wash her face and change into her PJs. Nathan was leaning against the doorway, watching her, and she could feel it. That look. It was sending chills down her spine, and she wanted nothing more than to walk up to Nathan and kiss him, but she still had that nervous apprehension. She mentally berated herself- he was her husband for goodness' sakes, she shouldn't be nervous around him. As she leaned over the sink to rinse off her face wash, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

Damn, he'd made it from the door to her fast.

Reaching for the towel located next to the sink, she grabbed it and dried her face of the water droplets before looking into the mirror. He leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder, and their eyes locked, blue meeting brown. She'd always loved his eyes- they were the most expressive part of him. He could be trying not to let his feelings show, and all she had to do was look into those piercing, bright blue eyes to know what was really going on inside his head.

He loosened his grip slightly and she turned around to face him, his arms resting on the counter on either side of her. Her hand made its way to his head, running her fingers through his hair and smiling. She was so glad that he'd cut it- after her not so subtle hint earlier that morning, she knew it would be gone. She just didn't think it would be that soon. But hey, she wasn't complaining. She saw him look at her mouth again, and she knew that he wanted to kiss her badly, but that he was going to wait until she made the first move.

"I really missed you, Nate," she said softly, resting her forehead against his. "Really, really missed you."

His gaze shifted back to her eyes quickly, and she saw the flicker of shame pass through his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, running her hand over his face and through his hair as she spoke.

"Nathan, you've apologized, it's done. You really don't need to anymore. I've accepted it, and so has Jamie, so you can stop feeling guilty, okay?"

He nodded, smiling.

"I love you so much, Hales, I-"

But he was cut off with a "Shh" from Haley as she placed her hands on either side of his face, tilting his head towards hers. She leaned forward, pulling him towards her, and pressed her lips to his in a soft, gentle, loving kiss, their lips moving over each other's the way that they had grown accustomed to since they'd been together. After a few moments, Haley pulled away and rested her forehead against Nathan's once again, watching as his eyes remained close, as if he didn't believe what had just happened. Before he could open his eyes, she leaned in once more and kissed him softly.

"I love you, too."

And then his lips were crashed onto hers, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him close. She was pressed against the bathroom counter, and Nathan's arms were wrapped around her. He was leaning over her, one hand at the back of her head and one on her back. Their lips were moving quickly, Nathan pressing fervent kisses on the corners of her mouth, on her bottom lip, on her top lip, and finally over her whole mouth. She reached up and placed her hand on the back, pulling him closer to her. After a few moments, when air became an issue, they pulled apart.

Nathan cupped her cheek in his palm, his thumb tracing over her now swollen and red lips. He ducked down to press a soft kiss upon them, and then closed his eyes and put his forehead against hers.

"It felt so good to finally be able to kiss you again." he said softly, opening his eyes and looking into hers.

Haley just simply nodded and leaned up, pressing her lips to his once more.

"You have no idea," she said, smiling.

That nervous apprehension was gone, and was instead replaced with a feeling of longing. All she wanted to do was kiss him now. Well, more than kiss, but she knew they had to work up to that. She loved the feel of his lips on hers, the way he held the back of her head in his hand, how he kept going until he was actually about to pass out because he didn't want to take a breath unless absolutely necessary. Closing her eyes, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled. Thing were getting back to normal.

And then she felt it.

That look.


End file.
